Friday, November 20, 2009

Newest Commission - Lily the Whippet

Lily
5x7 inches
Coloured pencils on drafting film
I am making very slow progress on my commissions at the moment. In the last week we have had four days that have been over 39 degrees C (102 degrees F), and yesterday the mercury hit 42. We haven't even reached summer yet - it truly does get you thinking about Global Warming. I much prefer to snuggle up in warm clothes on a cool day with a nice hot cuppa, then melt in this heat, and find it quite challenging to be as productive as normal when it's hot!!! Enough of the whinging, at least I am blessed to be able to follow my love for art on a full-time basis and have more blessings than I can poke a stick at - back to the drawing board!!!!!

10 comments:

Mona Diane Conner said...

Wow, this one is absolutely breathtaking Karen. I hope it is paying well!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Mona. This one took me many more hours than I anticipated, and so the amount charged probably wasn't enough because it was only 5x7 inches. Sometimes a commission twice this size will take much less time and so is more worthwhile. I am so snowed under at the moment, that I may look at putting the prices up next year. I think you need to start off quite low until you build up a bit of a following.

Autumn Leaves said...

Karen, Lily is a beautiful girl and you have done her quite proud. Truly a stunning portrait!

Bridie said...

your work is lovely...thank you for sharing it with us..
you must work so fast..how do you start your work .do you use a grid...agan fantastic blog...oh and I wish we could have some of that hot weather..here its raining with some floods.....

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Sherry and Bridie. You must be from the UK Sherrie - I saw the floods on the news last night and thought what a turbulent weather our poor old planet is having. I do hope you are not immediately affected too much by flooding.

As far as starting work, it depends on the medium. When using the drafting film, because it is slightly translucent, you can place it straight over the reference photos to get a quick guide for placement etc. If using other supports, I use transfer paper.

artbyakiko said...

Amazing detail! It's so beautiful!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Akiko!!!

artbykarieann said...

I haven't caught up with your blog for a while Karen and it seems I've missed quite a few pieces. This is my favourite and truly wonderful

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Great job on this one Karen. I hope you get some relief from the heat! It can be tough trying to concentrate!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Barbara and Karie-Ann. The weather has at last cooled down for us Barbara - it is heavenly. I know it is hard to catch up on all the blogging when you are busy Karrie-Ann, and I would imagine you are flat out yourself with commissions for Christmas.